1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to fans.
More particularly, this invention relates to fans of the type commonly employed to circulate air.
In a further and more specific aspect, the instant invention concerns a fan blade which can be readily and easily customized to accommodate the aesthetic considerations of the user.
2. The Prior Art
Fans are commonly employed to circulate air within a residence, a restaurant, an office or other structure. Common place are fans that are mounted in a horizontal configuration and fans that are mounted in a vertical configuration. Horizontally mounted fans, commonly referred to as ceiling fans, are generally suspended from an overhead by a shaft or chain. Vertical fans, commonly referred to floor mounted fans, are generally carried upon a stanchion.
Regardless of the mounting configuration, fans, as will be readily recognized by those skilled in the art and by users, include a motor, a hub rotatably driven by the motor and a blade assembly carried by the hub. The typical blade assembly includes a blade iron secured to the hub and having a distal end which supports the proximal end of a fan blade. For this purpose the distal end of the blade iron includes a surface for receiving the proximal end of the fan blade there against. The distal end of the blade iron also includes an arrangement of threaded bores for receiving screws which extend through corresponding openings in the proximal end of the fan blade.
Fan blades are typically fabricated of rigid sheet material such as wood or metal. Such blades tend to be rather prosaic and without aesthetic value. More recently, the prior art has attempted to enhance fan blades. The enhanced fan blades frequently require an especially fabricated frame that is not within the normal scope of the art of fan blade fabrication. Other enhanced fan blades provided by the prior art require especially fabricated blade irons. In general, the enhanced blades touted by the prior art are complex and expensive to manufacture.
It would be highly advantageous, therefore, the remedy the foregoing and other deficiencies inherent in the prior art.